(Update at 12:30 p.m. ET: Lynch has scheduled a press conference at 4:30 ET "to announce his intended successor to U.S. Sen. Judd Gregg, should Sen. Gregg be confirmed as Commerce Secretary.")

Newman, 63, is a moderate Republican who has backed Lynch's gubernatorial bids. As part of a deal linked to Gregg's departure, she has agreed to caucus with Senate Republicans and not to run for the seat in 2010. The Manchester Union Leader reports that Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes already has decided he will run for the seat.

As the AP points out, former governor Jeanne Shaheen was sworn in to the Senate last month, meaning Newman will be the state's second female senator in a matter of weeks. The Union Leaderprofiles Newman here. The AP summarizes her background:

Newman was Gregg's chief of staff in the 1980s, oversaw administrative operations for the White House under George H.W. Bush, and has served as interim president of the University of New Hampshire and executive dean at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government ...

In the private sector, she founded a radio station, was executive vice president at Exeter Trust and was president of the New England Council, a regional business association.

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About Catalina Camia

Catalina Camia leads the OnPolitics online community and has been at USA TODAY since 2005. She has been a reporter or editor covering politics and Congress for two decades, including stints at The Dallas Morning News and Congressional Quarterly. Follow her at @USATOnPolitics.